The 26 best restaurants in the East Village

Chinese hot pot, which typically mingles thinly sliced meats, vegetables and stock, gets a brothless showcase at this East Village eatery. Choose from among dozens of ingredients like pork belly, short rib, beef tongue, poultry, fish and veggie options to create your own numbing, spicy entrée.

After a brief break, Van Da will reopen for walk-ins and reservations on September 14. Expect to see its comforting provolone and short rib grilled cheese with a shot of pho, crispy mochi dumplings, turmeric branzino and shaking beef make a welcome return just in time for fall. 

As with many neighborhood favorites approaching two decades in operation, Hearth's longevity is evidence of its excellence. Cozy, romantic and rustic-chic as ever, settle in for grass-fed beef and ricotta meatballs, roasted chicken and wild striped bass.

Thursday Kitchen's menu boasts Korean, French and Spanish influences. Expect saucy gnocchi with a Korean chili-pepper sauce, rich duck-confit empanadas and plantains with chimichurri and ricotta. Sip soju cocktails served in LED Capri Sun–style bags while you feast

Southern staples shine at this casual East Village restaurant that's renowned for some of NYC's best fried chicken. Nab a seat outside for Bobwhite's famed fowl, along with sides like biscuits and mac ‘n cheese.  

A Manhattan classic, Angel’s Share makes frequent appearances on NYC ‘best-of’ round-ups, particularly in the speakeasy genre. The addition of outdoor seating in 2020 cracked its historically difficult (and semi-obscured) door open a little wider. Today, your chances of nabbing a spot for some of the city’s best cocktails, plus raw bar items, chicken karaage and table fries are better than ever. 

One of NYC's few modern Hawaiian restaurants, Noreetuh has braised pork cheeks and octopus or cuddlefish skewers to start, musubi varieties like classic or spicy Spam, and entrees like oxtail soup, sea urchin cavatelli and mochiko fried chicken.

A favorite going way back, some of Sake Bar Decibel’s prices are a blast from the past, too. Arrive in time for happy hour (a literal 60 minutes from 6pm to 7pm each day) and your early bird ambitions will let you wet your beak on $6 lychee martinis, sake tinis and sake highballs. You can also mix and match a ton of plates like vegetable gyoza, pork shumai, and karaage for $6-$8. 

Accidental bar opened in a familiar old space (Lois wine bar’s to be precise) with a new concept earlier this summer. Though wine is still available (it is a bar, after all!), the primary focus is now sake. Pair seasonal selections with crab in miso cream and crispy potatoes or ​​chili crisp corn ribs. 

Jeepney's kamayan feast is well known, where a banana-leaf-covered table is topped with excellent items like whole fried snapper and sweet-savory pork sausages to share. Filipino gastropub fare is also available a la carte. 

This kosher diner has been serving up comforting plates like tuna melts, pierogi, kasha varnishkes and borscht at the counter in its a cozy slip of a space since 1938. 

Szechuan Mountain House is a St. Marks Place favorite, with peppercorn-fortified dishes that leave your mouth feeling appropriately numb whether you order the mapo tofu or the hot oil sliced beef. Although we’re not sure the phone should eat first, many of this spot’s preparations are particularly photogenic. 

Somtum Der now serves Isan cuisine at two locations in NYC: In Red Hook, Brooklyn and right here on Avenue A in the East Village. Take a seat in the Manhattan outpost's bright, wood-paneled dining room for a wide variety of easy-to-share hot Thai plates.

Bookended by picture windows on one end and an open kitchen on the other, Oiji fits a lot of fun into its narrow space. (And, like many restaurants, a more recent street shed addition brings the inside out.) Top your table with foie gras, bone marrow and ssam platters for two for a taste of what the place has to offer. 

This zen-like space in the East Village has quickly become the premier destination for udon in the city. While the thick, chewy noodles are the star of the show, the broths are just as good (you’ll want to finish every drop). Try the cold ja ja with spicy miso pork, cucumber, tomato and poached egg for a refreshing option.

This red sauce spot is a local haunt that's also fit for subtly impressing out of town guests. Its crowd-pleasing menu includes several pizzas, plenty of pasta options and a satisfying chicken Parm. Lil' Frankies also serves wine "by consumption," allowing you to sample a half glass of this, a whole glass of that, or as much of any given bottle as wish to sip. 

Eric Sze and Andy Chuang infuse 886's Tawainese comfort dishes with a bit of izakaya flair (sake pairs excellently with an oyster omelette or scallion pancakes) and a few modern touches (honey-glazed popcorn chicken). It’s a perfect hangout whether you’re looking for a fun meal with friends or to offset your earlier imbibing.

Chef Sujan Sarkar’s contemporary spin on regional Indian dishes paired with an inventive cocktail menu brings in customers seeking gastro pub vibes. Order small plates like potato tikki chaat and Kashmiri lamb ribs for the table and maybe share a taste of mains like the paneer pinwheel and beef short rib curry.

A throwback to the artsy East Village of decades past, this Ukrainian diner is famous for savory grub like borscht, kielbasa and pierogi. There is no bad time to come in for a bite, just be aware there will be crowds of college students and downtown dwellers looking to do the same morning, noon and night.

Being that the beautiful broth bathing al dente noodles and tender beef is the product of hours of preparation, we try to savor every slurp at Ho Foods. Add on an order of radish cakes or sticky rice rolls to make the experience last.

Open for more than a quarter-century, this beloved mainstay raised tens of thousands of dollars in donations to keep its doors open in 2020 and contunue serving chana masala, yellow dal, chaat and myriad other vibrantly spiced, vegetarian-friendly items on First Avenue.

Still going strong after almost twenty years, the original Momofuku Noodle Bar is as popular as ever for its array of slurpable noodle soups, tender meat or mushroom-stuffed buns and soft serve ice cream for dessert. 

Reclaimed wood, repurposed scaffolding and recycled whiskey bottles become chandeliers and lamps in a 45-seat dining room, where animal-bone beer taps take center stage at the bar. Enjoy a bounty of southern classics in downtown style.

This tiny spot serves a revolving menu of memorable, vegetable-forward sandwiches, sides, desserts and one of the best plant-based burgers in NYC. Do not expect to be able to sit inside, but do pre-order pints of gelato to take away with your savory faves. 

The Pig Out for two keeps us coming back to Eleven Madison Park alum chef Thomas Chen’s Tuome time after time. The dynamic double dish includes a Berkshire pork shoulder confit with bits of shatteringly-crisp skin alongside spicy, chewy peanut noodles. 

A corner spot with two swaths of sidewalk seating and copious plates of pasta like spaghetti pomodoro, bucatini cacio e pepe and squid ink campanelle, Bar Primi is ideal for people watching and carbo-loading. Add on a couple of cocktails or a bottle of wine to make a whole afternoon or evening out of it.